DETAILED ACTION
1. This action is in response to the election filed on 12/24/25.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
2. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Election/Restrictions
3. Applicant’s election without traverse of Species 1 (claims 1-9, figures 1-4 and 7-8) in the reply filed on 12/24/25 is acknowledged.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
4. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Siri (US 20060273770) in view of Zhang et al. (US 20150078045).
Regarding claim 1: Siri disclose a power device (i.e. figure 1) comprising a plurality of DC-DC converter circuits (i.e. 12a-c), wherein inputs (i.e. inputs of 12a-c) of the plurality DC-DC converter circuits (i.e. 12a-c) are connected in parallel, and outputs (i.e. outputs of 12a-c) of the plurality DC-DC converter circuits (i.e. 12a-c) are connected in series,
but does not specifically disclose a plurality of non-isolated DC-DC converter circuits each including a bidirectional element, wherein inputs of the plurality of non-isolated DC-DC converter circuits are connected in parallel, and outputs of the plurality of non- isolated DC-DC converter circuits are connected in series.
Zhang et al. disclose a power converter (i.e. figure 3) comprising a plurality of non-isolated DC-DC converter circuits (i.e. circuits of figure 3) each including a bidirectional element (i.e. S0-S2),
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date to modify the circuit of Siri’s invention with the converter as disclose by Zhang et al. to have wherein inputs of the plurality of non-isolated DC-DC converter circuits are connected in parallel, and outputs of the plurality of non- isolated DC-DC converter circuits are connected in series, because it provides high reliability, strong shock resistance and load capacity.
Regarding claim 2: Siri disclose the limitation of the claim(s) as discussed above, but does not specifically disclose each of the plurality of non-isolated DC-DC converter circuits further includes a first input terminal and a second input terminal, and a first output terminal and a second output terminal, wherein the bidirectional element in each of the plurality of non- isolated DC-DC converter includes a first bidirectional element which is provided between the first input terminal and the first output terminal, and a second bidirectional element which is provided between the second input terminal and the second output terminal.
Zhang et al. disclose a power converter (i.e. figure 3) comprising each of the plurality of non-isolated DC-DC converter circuits (i.e. circuits of figure 3) further includes a first input terminal (i.e. + input) and a second input terminal (i.e. - input), and a first output terminal (i.e. + output) and a second output terminal (i.e. - output), wherein the bidirectional element (i.e. S0-S2) in each of the plurality of non-isolated DC-DC converter (i.e. circuits of figure 3) includes a first bidirectional element (i.e. element of S0-S2) which is provided between the first input terminal (i.e. + input) and the first output terminal (i.e. + output), and a second bidirectional element (i.e. element of S0-S2) which is provided between the second input terminal (i.e. + output) and the second output terminal (i.e. - output).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date to modify the circuit of Siri’s invention with the converter as disclose by Zhang et al., because it provides high reliability, strong shock resistance and load capacity.
Regarding claim 3: Siri disclose the limitation of the claim(s) as discussed above, but does not specifically disclose each of the first bidirectional element and the second bidirectional element includes a first semiconductor switching element and a second semiconductor switching element, and respective first terminals of the first semiconductor switching element and the second semiconductor switching element are connected together, and respective control terminals of the first semiconductor switching element and the second semiconductor switching element are connected together.
Zhang et al. disclose a power converter (i.e. figure 3) comprising each of the first bidirectional element (i.e. D11, D12) and the second bidirectional element (i.e. D13, D14) includes a first semiconductor switching element and a second semiconductor switching element, and respective first terminals of the first semiconductor switching element (i.e. D11, D12)) and the second semiconductor switching element (i.e. D13, D14) are connected together, and respective control terminals (i.e. terminals for S1) of the first semiconductor switching element (i.e. D11, D12) and the second semiconductor switching element (i.e. D13, D14) are connected together.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date to modify the circuit of Siri’s invention with the converter as disclose by Zhang et al., because it provides high reliability, strong shock resistance and load capacity.
Allowable Subject Matter
5. Claims 4-9 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
6. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NGUYEN TRAN whose telephone number is (571)270-1269. The examiner can normally be reached Flex: M-F 8-7.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Monica Lewis can be reached at 571-272-1838. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Nguyen Tran/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2838